Donnie Darko
American Repertory Theatre
Based on the screenplay by Richard Kelly
Adapted and directed by Marcus Stern
Through November 18
Zero Arrow Theatre, Cambridge
Ticket and performance information

In bringing "Donnie Darko" to Cambridge's Zero Arrow stage, the American Repertory Theatre has made bold move: it decided to issue a challenge to two diverse target audiences, either of which could easily feel skittish about the mere idea of A.R.T.'s latest production. The challenge? To trust.

Those unfamiliar with Richard Kelly's 2001 cult film are asked to spend an evening with a brilliant adolescent boy with issues, one who examines the physics of time travel as he follows the guidance of a six-foot-tall rabbit named Frank. Frank, by the way, says that the end of the world is only 28 days, 6 hours, 14 minutes, and 12 seconds away.

That's not an easy sell. Nor is it necessarily guaranteed that those who have fallen under Kelly's cinematic spell will run out to experience "Darko" live. A stage adaptation runs the risk of ruining the magic and cult phenomenon of the work. Without the camera angles or lead actor Jake Gyllenhaal, but with the recent memory of cult adaptation flops ("High Fidelity: The Musical," anyone?), why risk theatre when one could easily experience "Darko" through yet another DVD viewing?

The answer lies in A.R.T., director Marcus Stern, and the 80 minutes of theatrical goosebumps that await audiences willing to take that chance. In its world premiere, "Darko" succeeds in immersing audience members in a world previously only visible on a film or television screen. Weaving through the relationships, issues, and complexity of plot with grace and intensity, "Donnie Darko" is not just an adaptation of a movie. It is an engrossing work in its own right, the rare adaptation that can stand side-by-side with the film by which it was inspired.

Click below to read the full review. Photo courtesy of A.R.T.

Donnie (Dan McCabe) is an intelligent but emotionally fraught youth living in 1988 suburban Virginia. As he attempts to sort through his psychological issues (sleepwalking, medication, a history of violent behavior), he is otherwise trying to continue through adolescence when he meets Frank. Or, rather, when the charcoal-colored demon bunny appears to draw Donnie out of his bedroom one night to tell him that the world will soon be coming to an end. The action and this revelation saves Donnie's life - an engine from an unknown plane crashes into the Darko home and comes to rest precisely where Donnie should have been sleeping.

This atypical savior leads the young man on a journey that includes issues of time travel, physics, God's will, and societal pressures to conform. Donnie follows the path, at first out of a sense of obligation to the creature that helped him cheat death. Ultimately, however, he continues in order to fulfill the destiny he comes to comprehend, regardless of how frightening it may be, what it comes to include (destruction and violence), and who may misinterpret his actions along the way (all of those who view Donnie as unstable, bipolar, frightened, and communicating with an imaginary bunny).

Confusing? That's only the condensed version. Kelly, who wrote and directed the film, weaves together elements of science, religion, and human interaction in a manner that provides a wealth of information and theory, many questions, but few answers. His film's subdued tone, mirroring the haze of Donnie's prescribed medication, likewise requires a viewer to grapple with the inconclusive nature of the plot. Stern, who adapted and directs in A.R.T.’s production, and his company do not endeavor to fill in the blanks left in the original film, but this "Darko" offers subtle hints and suggestions to the audience along the way.

Jake Gyllenhaal's sleepy-eyed cinematic Donnie is begrudgingly pulled into this story and takes a passive approach to picking up the clues as they come along. His moments of insight come largely through hypnotherapy, at times when he is at an infantile, vulnerable state. Dan McCabe's stage Donnie, however, is a higher-octane contrast, a bright boy actively seeking information. The stage Donnie knows why he is following Frank. He recognizes that a bigger picture exists and recognizes that he must keep moving in order for the next burst of clarity to appear before him. Matt McAdon's scenic design nicely points out this defining character quality: McCabe spends much of his time running from one corner or level of the performance space to the next, joining scenes in progress to maintain the play's quick pace.

A.R.T.'s production restores dialogue originally cut from Kelly's film, which adds further contextualization, but the production strays slightly to provide well-presented commentary on the haves and have-nots of Donnie's world. A talent-show juxtaposition is particularly insightful: interpretive dance by Cherita Chen (Talisa Friedman) transforms the earmuff-wearing social outcast of the film into a peer capable of setting Donnie's fate to a Frank Sinatra tune, but the comedic absurdity of little sister Samantha Darko's (Carolyn McCandlish) Sparkle Motion dance troupe is highlighted moments later, as adult actors convey children performing trashy professional cheerleader moves.

Otherwise, the production is a faithful interpretation of source material clearly held in high regard. The dark wit is as sharp as ever, particularly through Thomas Derrah's turn as motivational speaker Jim Cunningham, a man whose sleaze is evident from the tips of his over-processed hair down to the brassy cuff links and yellow sateen dress shirts. The reworking of a Halloween party scene also provides new comedic opportunity.

But the production does not shy away from the fact that Donnie's experience is largely a frightening one: Frank's appearances on stage are, with one exception, downright creepy. It is a testament to both the source material and this production that a guy wearing a rabbit suit can elicit such feelings of discomfort.

Stern and A.R.T. are daring audiences to trust their vision of what "Donnie Darko" can do for the stage. When a knife-wielding Donnie stares into a mirror to find razor teeth and demonic eyes looking back through the looking glass, it is obvious that those audiences are in extraordinarily capable hands.